Movie Review : With Love

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 A young man, Sathya ( Abishan Jeevinth) meets a young girl,  Monisha ( Anaswara Rajan) at a meeting arranged by his sister who wants him to settle down in marriage. 


To his surprise, he finds the girl interesting and the duo hit it off.  In their conversations they discover that both had studied in the same school, had teenage crushes in school but could not express their feelings to the person. 


So, now, Monisha suggests they go back to their school and find their respective teenage crushes Anisha and Balaji, (Kavya Anil, Sacchin Nachiappan) see how they are doing in life  and also express their past feelings to them.


 Does the quirky suggestion affect their own simmering, budding feelings for each other? Do they manage to meet their teen crushes? What happens thereafter?

The first part takes us through  their life journey during their school days like many other films,  but the refreshing treatment by newbie director Madhan, is in the way the conversations flow freely between Sathya and Monisha, their budding camaraderie, their no strings attached friendship, and thier decision to take it slow before taking an important life decision. All this is  played out  by a superbly chosen fresh screen pairing of  Abishan and Anaswara. 

Anaswara is a delight to watch, her unaffected natural mannerisms which charm, her slight Malayalam accent which makes her all the more real, and effortless performance which draws you instantly and keeps you hooked till  the end,  are all a huge reason the film works. 

Abishan, a director  turned hero, brings a controlled yet energetic touch,  using his expressive eyes to advantage, and bringing an innocence quirkiness to his role which makes you root for his character as well. 

Together, this duo create magic on screen,  which is not in your face, but settles all around them as the plot proceeds. With their performance, they bring a relatibility to their characters which many in the audience could perhaps connect to. 

Kavya Anil is simply superb as Anisha and pulls off an emotionally charged scene in the second half, with no fanfare, but just her impactful expressions, soft yet impactful dialogue delivery and expressive eyes. Sacchin Nacchiappan  delivers a controlled yet nuanced performance, getting perfectly into the skin of the character.

All four actors transform into their teenage selves quite credibly, adding to the flavour of the film. 

The bgm by Sean Roldan is befitting the breezy rom com while his tracks bring a peppy energy, accompanied by rich visuals.

The locations have been carefully chosen to add to the feel good factor,  there is ample humor ( Saravanan in a spirited role as a teacher, along with  other supporting characters) nail -biting suspense  and just the right amount of tension in the air to keep you guessing near the climax.

The screenplay moves fairly fast, and a well chosen supporting cast enhances the feel of the film.  A film sans crudity nor gritty violence, With Love seems a good watch for family audiences as well, apart from youngsters. 

Delving into modern relationships, With Love quietly delivers subtle messages along the way,  and explores the fascinating world of love, romance and marriage in a contemporary setting, with dollops of nostalgia and old world charm. 

Rating 4/5

CAST :

Abishan Jeevinth as Sathya Seelan

Anaswara Rajan as Monisha

Theni Murugan as Sathya Appa

“kalaimamani” Saravanan as Saminathan Sir

Harish Kumar as Dinesh

Kavya Anil as Anisha

Sacchin Nachiappan as Balaji

Sachana as Santhiya

Rj Ananthi as Sathya Akka

Dimple Kanna as Vinodhini

Siddharth as Jaffer

 

TECHNICAL CREW:

 

Writer, Director: Madhan

Produced by: Soundarya Rajinikanth and Magesh Raj Pasilian

Music: Sean Roldan

DOP: Shreyaas Krishna

Edit: Suresh Kumar

Art: Raj Kamal

Associate Producer: Vijay MP

Executive Producer: A. Balamurugan

Lyrics: Mohan Rajan, Uma Devi, Madhan

Choreographer: Santhosh

Action: PC Stunts (Karthik)

Costume Designer: Priya Ravi

Publicity Designs: Sarath J Samuel

Stills: Maniyan

Publicity Stills: Jose Christo

PRO: Yuvraaj

 

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